(Bloomberg) -- Vladimir Putin prepared to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose luxury armored train crossed into Russian territory. In the eastern port city of Vladivostok, the Russian president sought to reassure investors after a steep drop in the ruble exposed the country’s vulnerability to financial shocks. 

A senior NATO official said the alliance is concerned that the talks in Russia’s Far East could lead to additional arms deliveries to the Kremlin. Russia is meanwhile unlikely to be able to mount a significant offensive operation this year as its armed forces lack the necessary munitions and troops, the official told reporters in Brussels. 

Military operations in eastern and southern Ukraine remain “quite difficult,” the General Staff in Kyiv said. Ukrainian forces are consolidating their positions after making gains on the southern front, inflicting “significant losses in manpower and equipment” on the Russian military, while Kremlin troops are pushing to break Ukrainian lines in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. 

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Markets

Global oil markets face a supply shortfall of more than 3 million barrels a day next quarter — potentially the biggest deficit in more than a decade — as Saudi Arabia, aided by Russia, extends its production cuts.

Coming Up

  • Putin in Vladivostok, plans to hold summit with Kim

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